Subject:Trouble
Entries
Entry 6383
An' dey could trim yer fingahnails, yo' know. Say now, like if yo' set dere an' trim yer fingahs, I'd gathah dem up. See, I'd gathah dem up an' take dem - or toenails, eithah one of 'em. Take 'em an' put 'em in a li'le vial. An' aftah yo' put 'em intuh de li'le vial, yo' would keep 'em in dis vial fo' 'bout nine days, wit a li'le vitrus wit 'em fo'.tuh git 'em soft. Den yo' take 'em out of dat vitrus an' dry 'em off, an' put 'em in anothah vial den an' put othah stuff wit 'em. (What other stuff do they put with that second vial? What do they put in that second vial?) Intuh de secon' one yo'll put some of yer own chamber lye, an' a li'le bit of cologne root.
(Cologne root?)
Cologne root. An' yo'll take dat an' shift it aroun' [in the bottle]. Dat is tuh do 'em harm.
[Cologne root is probably a product of the root-seller or hoodoo drug store.]
(Well, what do you do with that bottle then, that has that stuff in it? This second bottle, what do you do with that, then?) De bottle? Well, yo' could take dat bottle out some place an' bury it. Bury dat bottle an' dat'll make dem useless in dere han's or foot, wherever dese nails come from.
Entry 7821
If someone's daid, some of yore relatives, an' yo' git in trouble, yo' take an' write dem a lettah an' tell 'em whut chew in trouble 'bout, an' care [carry] it tuh de graveyard an' put it in dey grave, an' yo' nevah will be 'rested [arrested] 'bout whut chew done. [Informant pronounced preceding word relatives as relatives.
Entry 8030
Well, yo' have tuh grind dat up, grind de bone of de dead man up. An' perhaps dey might put it intuh yuh food or perhaps yo' may drink. Why jis' grind it up fine or jis' take a hammah or sompin lak dat an' beat it up - put it in a rag an' beat it up fine, yo' know, jis' lak flour on somepin. An' put it intuh yuh food or jis' put it intuh whiskey yo' drink or soft drink or anything lak dat an' yo' drink it down. Why dat would give yo stomic trouble. De balance of yuh days yuh stomic will nevah be no good tuh yo'. Keep yo' in lingahin' death.
(What do they call that?)
Suffahin' a man.
Entry 8694
[There was] a man [a doctor] and he write - wrote in red ink.
(He had red ink?)
Yes, sir. Not ink, yo' know a red pencil, but red center. An' he write mine name, hers name an' - wrote de boy's name, an' de girl's name, an' then my name across it. And he [this doctor] said that would make them humble unto me. Yo' see, give me no more trouble. Well, it look like it did, see. Ah don't know. Ah know ah never did [have any more trouble with them].
(Then after he wrote those names, then what did he do with that paper?)
Fold it, fold it to him. Every time he turn it, fold it to him. Don't fold it away from him, to him. And [he] sewed it up in a little sack an' ah wore that, wore it out. That's what I experienced individually.
(You had to wear that?)
Yes, sir. (He wrote this girl's name and this boy's name like that [I demonstrate] on parallel lines.) Yes, sir. (Then he crossed - then diagonally he crossed your name on it with this red pencil? I see.) YeS, Sir. [THE READER MUST REALIZE THAT THE PRECEDING "PARALLEL LINES" AND "DIAGONALLY" ARE NOT FOR INFORMANT BUT FOR MY FUTURE UNDERSTANDING. MANY OF MY COMMENTS ARE ANNOTATIONS.]
Entry 9017
(You do what?) Dey take a frizzly aig from a frizzly chicken. [For friz- zly chicken, see Doctor Friz- zly, p.59f. and elsewhere.]
Yes, an' write on dat aig an' go roun' de co'thouse three time an' throw it on dere, an' if yo' got anybody in prison, dey will come out.
(What do you write on that egg?)
"Lord depart chew from dat trouble."
(Then you throw it on that courthouse.)
Entry 9095
It was a colored person, a lady, Miss Field [in New York City] she'd fell [fall] off in a trance, tell yuh anything. An' she tole me dat [a remedy in 870:2 - mullein and snake oill. An' she even tole me dat any time de trouble come, any- thing dat ah wanted tuh go in- tuh, or anybody was goin' tuh do anything, tuh come back in trouble - she tole me tuh go git some limes, yo' know dese li'le limes. An' if ah'm goin' in co't or any trial dat Was goin', cut one of 'em in half - dis fortunetellah in New York - an' walk in dere an' while ah walkin' in, put a half in mah mouth, an' de whole time jes' spit a li'le bit of spit. Evahthin' in court was throwed apart half- an'-half, no kind of fine. Nuthin can be - de jedge cain't do nuthin'. She said, go anywhere, regardless, jes' take dat lime an' cut it in half an' use dat in....
(When you are in trouble.)
When yo' in trouble be sure to git dat lime.
Entry 9109
Den ah tell yo' anothah thing dat's very good. Yo' use dat oil of amber. Yo' cross de bottom of yore feet wit dat, both feet, an' rub it on yore- self [demonstrates]. (You rub it on the hands like this, and then you rub it right at the top of - the middle of the temple, and then right down your chin.) An' yo' kin go anywheres an' dey will be so sympathizing wit yo'.
(You mean that is to get out of trouble or...)
Most anythin' [even a court case]. Ah had a girl in de hospital, she wus goin' - wanted to be graduated, goin' to be a nurse, an' she was doin' some li'le things she shouldn't have done, an de head nurse was goin' to discharge 'er. An' she didn't wanta leave fer any- thing. An' ah jest give her de stuff an' tole 'er what to do an' she stayed dere - jest graduated.
(You use that for little minor things.)
Entry 9196
If yo' wants tuh git outa trouble or anything lak dat, dey say if yo' take a aig - some people say if yo' take de aig at twelve a'clock in de night an' write de person's name on dis aig, an' yo' kin eithah go in one cornah of yore house an' bus' dat aig In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Ghost at twelve a'clock... An' some people say tuh go in fronta de co'thouse or de jailhouse or wheresomevah de person am, see. An' take de aig an' throw it ovah dat an' let it bust ovah de topa it.
(Any kind of a chicken egg?)
Any kind from whut ah heard. Ah heard dat yo' kin take dis aig an' yo' kin take dat an' yo' kin make a wish In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Ghost. Tell it whut chew want it tuh do fo' yuh an' bury it undah yore steps. Say dat will come true.
Entry 9200
Yo' take de black hen aig an' put a cross mark on it an' write de person name on it an' name, yo' say: De Son an' de Fathah an' de Holy Ghost, an' den if yo' in trouble, yo' turn yore back an' bust dat aig up by de tree, an' it break an' yore trouble break.
Entry 9797
Yo' take needles an' pin 'em in a flannel rag, an' it must be needles dat have nevah been used, an' yo' wrap dem in a angle an' fold'em in a angle, an' dat brings a lotta trouble. (How many needles did you say?) Three. See, yo' stick dem through de flannel lak dat [demonstrates], chew know, an' den lak dat.
(Like the spokes of a wheel?) [See diagram in preceding rite.]
Yeah. Den yo' wraps dem up an' yo' buries 'em.
(Where do you bury them?)
Undah de steps.
Entry 9809
Well, now if yo' is livin' neah me an' dey brings on confusion between I an' yo' which we can't git along or make us bat up wit one 'nothah, yo' kin take eight straight pins. Eight straight pins now. Yo' lay fo' of 'em tuh yore front do'. Yo' lays fo' tuh yore back do'. An' yo' goin' have tuh move 'way from dere. Yo' can't stay. (Do they lay those in any particular way?) Well, yes, yo' lay all de p'ints back out at de front steps, see. Jes' lak yo' go in de house, yo' come up an' go in de house over de step, well, yo' lay dose pins lak dat, de p'ints p'intin' out p'intin' 'way from de house back an' front.
(That makes you move.)
Entry 9837
Why ah heard dat chew git needles an' yo' git a piece of red flannel. An' yo' take nine needles an' fold dat flannel. Take nine needles, stick five dis way an' fo' de nex' [opposite] way. Den yo' git Heart Cologne an' wet dat an' sew dat up in somepin. Place it anywhere an' dere will be confusion in your house from den until yo' move.
Entry 10176
A bird's nest - a person can take some of your hair and put it in that bird's nest, you see. And take some of that bird's feathers and put that in there and then take your hair and put it in there. And then every, every morn- ing they take and set a light [candle] right in there [the nest] but not burn the nest. Just take that light and set that light in there [in a drinking glass]. And if they want to do you harm, get you some coarse snuff [often leaf of dried tobacco rubbed in hands] some hot pepper [sauce] and put it in there. And burn a light on it for nine mornings - you see, one hour for [each] nine days.
Entry 10640
Go to a ants' bed an' git dat sand an' sprinkle it round someone's house dat chew didn't like an' dat will also cause trouble. (What kind of trouble?) Like fights an' probably would end up into killin'. Dat's de red ants' nest.
Entry 10661
Anyone dat have a weak blad- der dataway or bad kidneys lak dat, use dere chamber lye to de ant nest fo' nine mawnin's an' it would stop. Dat big red ant nest.
Entry 10685
What do you do with the banana peeling?) A banana peeling is something you burn, that's something to burn. Yoa can Cke a banana peeling and burn it, and take it after it's powdered, and yoa can make a person heart - the doctor [an H. D.] be seearing that a person got heart trou- ble - by feeding 'en or giv- ing them that banana peeling [powder] in water to drink. And they be sick, and don't need nothing else but that banana peeling, and the doctor be swearing that person's got ordinary heart trouble. And when you stop giving it to 'em, stop feeding it to 'em, there won't be no more trouble. [Presumably this is believed to be a device by which a hoodoo doctor gives a person heart trouble and then cures him.]
Entry 10707
To make de house lucky, if rentin' a house.... Yo' take dis salt an' put it in de Bible or in a leaf [torn from Bible] an' put it on a shelf an' jes' leave it dere. Yo' kin put it in a small place, yo' see [where it will not be seen] an' yo' won' have any trouble rentin' yo' house. (You just wrap this salt up in this leaf from the Bible. You tear the leaf out of the Bible?) Yo' kin take de leaf outa de Bible, 'cause yo' see if yo' leave de whole Bible up dere, dat's suspicious.
Entry 11300
Got de hair from a dog - git it from right off his right hip - an' yo' take dat hair an' put it in some coffee. An' if yo' got anybody dat chew, chew dislike around yore house, yo' jes' give 'em dat an' let 'em drink de coffee up, off dat dog hair. Well, yo' won't have no trouble. (The right hip you say. The front or back?) De back one [the leg a dog lifts?].
Entry 11383
(You bury the file under the doorstep? This brings trouble into the home?) That brings trouble in a home. (The point must be....) Extendin' [pointing] to de house. Yo' don' wanta bury it dis way on de step [demonstrates]. Yo' wanta bury it dataway, extendin' to de house an' kinda elevated up. Dat brings trouble in de home.
Entry 11643
It all depends upon what kind of fits they have. (What for example?) Well, if they have what you call epidetic [epi- leptic] fits, of course, you have to take them to the doctor [M.D.] for that. But I tell you what I do know. Like I have a young baby and a woman come in my house be real sick and she hold my baby, she will give my baby what you call a string and he'll begin like that [demonstrates] to draw up, you know, like he Want - his bowels Wan'a move. Now, I'll go back to her and get a piece of her underclothing and tie it around my baby's wrist like that, and he will be all right.
Entry 11720
She [hoodoo woman] tell me, if you wan'a make a man an' a girl break up, jis beat up some glass right fine an' put it in a bottle with a little whis- key on it. Drain it [the glass] off of dat whiskey - strain it [the glass] off [of the whiskey], you know. An' when yo's having a party or somepin, jes' slip dat [strained whiskey] into de drink dat you gon'a give dis person. [The person who drinks this strained whiskey will have in him or her a part of the spirit of the broken glass, because spirits share a weakness for whiskey and PART OF THE SPIRIT EQUALS WHOLE OF SPIRIT, No.24, p.21, v.1. Even so the rite is dangerous.]
Entry 12281
Yo' kin during so many days tie knots in a string an' dey say dere a way of dressing dat. Git chure clothes an' put [knots] in dat an' bury it. When dem 9 days out yo'll be a corpse. (How would you dress those strings, those knots?) Dey dress with whut chew call - it's a root dey call a ~uampole root." It grows lak a great big white onion...
[I turned off machine and turned it on again.]
(It's a bitter weed, you say.)
[Is informant talking about wild onion?]
Yes sir, a hog loves it, de bitterest in de world. He scream when eatin' it. [This screaming sounds like folklore.] An' if yo' bite it an' swallow dat, it Will tie yo' up inside an' kill yo'. [Is this based upon pigs hunting for truf- fles, the pig being hit on the nose when he finds one (the cause of the squeal) so that he does not eat it?]
(Constipate you?)
Yo' kin bite it but don't swallow it.
(That's warpole root?)
Yes, wampole root. Dey takes dat string an' de salt[?] outa wampole root until dat thing git wet through an' through an' put dem knots in it. It will tie yo' up jes' lak...
(That is to tie your bowels up?)
Yes sir. Yo' heard of people wit locked bowels from dat. (What do they do with this string first? Do they have to get it out of your clothing or something?) Dey git chure clothing an' wrap dat string wit it. (Oh, you wrap that string around your piece of clothing.)
Entry 12287
Jes' lak yo' wants tuh choke a person. Yo' wanta jes' choke 'em an' he don't know whut might cause him tuh choke. Yo' take a string an' yo' measure it jes' about two feet long, an' yo'll tie three knots in it. After tyin' three knots in it, yo'll take kerosene an' wet dem knots jes' - jes' take yore two fingers an' wet dem three knots dataway. After yo' wet all three of 'em, yo' take it den an' yo' go tie it on a limb or sompin an' let it hang dere. Well, long as dem three knots is hanged why a person always - jes' lak dey hate chew - yo'll always have trouble in yore throat. (That string doesn't come in contact with the person I want to choke does it?) Dat's right, yes. Jes' lak a person always wanta choke an' dere be's jes' lak flem.
Entry 12318
If yo' burn a tree - if yo' wuz out with a person an' yo' take an' note where there's a lightnin'-struck tree, an' yo' split it up an' carry it to 'em fo' wood an' he burn it, even unknowingly, he'll lose his home. It's bad luck to him. (You give the fellow bad luck by giving him this wood from this tree?) Even if he didn't know it - he might not have but two pieces of dat, but he'd lose whatevah he had.
Entry 12373
Hit's in de country though, whut ah did. Hit's a weed in de country, yo' call de love tangler. [Is this a dodder?]
(What does it look like?)
It's jes' - it's a bush dat grows flat chew know, an' it jes' tangles all up yo' know - jes' lak yo' cain't see where de root of it. It jes' tangled an' twisted all up. (Is it a flower? Does it have any bloom on it?) No, it don't have no bloom. It's jes' a pretty green glat weed dat be's tangled up. An' yo' dig up some of that - yo' jes' dig up one bush of that an' carry it an' throw it under de per- son's house whut's devilin' yo' up wit chure husband.
(What will that do?)
Dat puts yo' all back together an' breaks him an' dis woman up. Dat's whut ah did fo' mah sister.
Entry 12440
You take a mockingbird.
(A mockingbird?)
Yeah, you take a mockingbird egg and a canary bird egg, and you put them twd eggs in a bottle together. And you take a person's name and you put alcohol on that, but you mark the name in initials and you put it in a good bottle. [One bottle is used in this rite.] (You just put their ini- tials on that?) Yeah, and you put it down in that bottle and shake it with that person's [name] that you don't like or do [person who has done] you something. It will just make 'em talk all over from their mouth, send them to jail, give them trouble, make them get in a fight and get in trouble.
(You say this will make them talk?)
Make them talk aplenty, make them get in trouble.
(Well, why does it make them talk?)
Well, you see, the two birds don't agree - make 'em chatter.
Entry 12538
Dey used tuh use dem red onion a long time ago. See... [turned off machine and turn it on again]. But people take a red onion, see. Dey take parsley as ah said a few minutes ago, red onion an' parsley an' dey'll git dis stuff dey call mustard, hot mustard. Dey put dat together an' dey'll leave dat onion dry an' dey'll grind it up good. Dey'll leave dry dere good. Yo' seen people to de [old-fashioned outdoor] toilet. It de custom to set on dere. Jes' spread it [this mixture] on de seat dataway. It supposed tuh give 'em some kind of a itch. Ah dunno. Ah see 'em all right. It'll [itch or skin trouble will] come between dere finger an' it'll come on de side an' in de bath dataway. [I have no idea what these 3 ingredients will do but at an earlier date this sort of thing was HOODOO.]
Entry 12563
Under your foot track - just like people come along and say that they could hurt you by your foot track. But they couldn't hurt you by a foot track, but I tell you what they could do. They could take some dirt coming from your shoes: just like if you had a hole in your shoe like that [dirt would get into shoe through hole in shoe]. And your foot track they Would probably pick up [in that way]. And after [hole in shoe] picking it up, they could take that dust, what come from your shoes. And they could shake it, put it in a box with some of these here pigeon eggs, and beat it up like that. Anywhere you bury that, you have to leave town [be- cause pigeon flies!]. And anytime you couldn't stay nowhere, couldn't never come back into the place where you was. (You mean the dirt from your shoe, any of the dirt that sticks to the bottom of your shoes? What about that hole in your shoes?) Just like - you see, where I Was, this feet chere, how it was. How this feet chere of mine was [he evidently demonstrates foot or feet]. Well, then, gettin' a remedy for that? [Here is how it happened.] I walked out one morning and it had some kind of yellowish-looking stuff on the steps. But I didn't paid attention and I walked on out of there, going to my work. Well, it was in the summertime and it was right warm. Well, I had some shoes that cut, you know, like this [demonstrates].
(Had holes in the bottoms of them?)
Yes, sir. Well, then, what made me heed them then was my heel started to hurt. I comes on back. Well, that heel of mine was about that big [demon- strates]. So they carried me and they got some of this sugar, this white granulated sugar, and got some of this Palm of Christiandom.
(Palm of what?)
Palm of Christiandom. (Palm of Christian?) [I am not correcting informant but commenting for the future. Besides, the words are Palma Christi "hand of Christ, " the castor-oil plant.] Palm of Christian, yes. You get that anywhere through the country. And they takes that and they put that on, in hot water, just as hot as I could bear it. Then after that they take some cayenne pepper and put it there and they soak it. Then they take, after that - don't never wipe it off - you just take it and let your feet hangs over the water like that, and drain until it dries. Then you take some of the "Pp" oil.
(PP. Two "P's.")
Yeah, PP oil. Get it in the drug store. You take that PP Oil and you just take it like that, with a piece of cotton, you know, and 'noint it. But always 'noint it going down.
(Why?)
Well, that's to draw out all the swelling and all the pain leaves - whatever. You have to rub it like that. [Informant either did not know or did not under- stand my question. You rub downwards to drive pain or any crunjure out through the feet. Many examples of this occur in HOODOO, see No.981, p.377, vol.1.] Well, the swelling before I ever knowed, well they had all the - I'll just lift it up here. They had all this here and all down here. [Informant demonstrates all this.] And they told me how to use it. Well, I got relief of that.
(What did it do to make your ankle swollen that way?)
Well, I walked in some yellowish-looking powder.
(Oh, I see.)
That's where it came from. And it was somepin that makes your ankle itch, you see; and you scratches it, you know.
Entry 12710
If yo' wuz sellin' whiskey an' de law wuz pretty bad, botherin' yo' aroun' yore house an' yo' wanted tuh keep 'em away, why yo' kin take a rabbit - kill a rabbit an' yo' kin kill a chicken. Take de chicken foot an' de rabbit foot an' bury dem tuhget- hah in de gate where yo' come intuh yore front do' at. Put dem in de ground an' bury dem tuhgethah. Den yo' goes back in de house aftah yo' do dat. Yo' goes back in de house an' yo' probably stay in de house ten or fifteen minutes an' den comes back out. Yo' comes back out an' yo' digs dis rabbit foot up an' dis heah chicken foot, an' yo' don' bury 'em tuh- gethah nex' time; yo' bury one on de right-han' side an' one on de left-han' side. De way ah heard it, don' make any difference which one yo' put on de right an' which one on de left. Yo' bury one on de right an' one on de left - on de left side of de do'steps, by de cornah of de do'step. An' yo' takes one of de toes off de chicken foot an' carry it roun' tuh de back do' tuh keep 'em 'way from de back, an' yo' bury dat down dere. An' dey say yo' won' have no trouble wit de law as long as dem feets is solid. An' when dey rot - yo' kin tell when it will rot down dere. Yo' have tuh bury some mo'. An' yo' won' be bothahed wit no law. A lady down heah in town heah, she had a experience wit dat.
Entry 12921
(They shoot the shadow, you say?)
Yeah. Well, dey do dat to harm a pusson, get him into trouble - harm 'em. Yo' be up dere - standin' dere - of co's [course] dis de individual, yo' understand. Yo' have a walkin' stick, see. While he standin' up, yo' be mark- in' in de ground. Yo' mark where his shadah is, yo' know. Well, after he go yo' know, yo' shoot dat shadow an' yo' shoot right in de heart. See, wheah yo' heart is, yo' know.
(And what will that do to them?)
Dat give dem heart trouble.
Entry 13351
Well, dey tell me a person's chamber lye - yo' takes a person's chamber lye - do yo' mean tuh do good or do harm? (Either one. Tell one first and then the other.) Well, yo'll take a person's chamber lye an' yo' put nine needles in dat chamber lye, brand-new needles. Yo' stick one point down an' one point up, one point down, until yo' git all of 'em down in dere. Yo' take dat an' yo' put dat chamber lye - bury it somewhere where dey kin walk ovah it. Dat will do 'em harm.
(Well, just what would it do to them?)
Well - well, if yo' wanta do good, now...
(How would it harm them?)
Well, dat would harm 'em, dat would ketch 'em in dere bladdah. Dat's de way dat'll harm dem, swell dem up down in heah.
(How do they do them good, do you say, with chamber lye?)
Well, yo' take dat chamber lye, ifs yo' want a man tuh stay home, take dat chamber lye wit some salt an' some sugah an' yo' stop dat up. An' yo' put dat undah de haid of yore bed, somewheres neah yore bed, or in a dark cornah in yore room - anywhere lak dat. Dat will make him stay home an' quit runnin' an' rov- in' aroun'. Dat'll make him stay home.